


Moonlit Arcana

by Gothams_Only_Wolf



Series: Arcana [1]
Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Magical Realism, Alternate Universe - Military, Cats, F/M, M/M, Magic-Users, Magical Realism, Multi, Mythical Beings & Creatures
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-10
Updated: 2015-08-10
Packaged: 2018-04-13 21:40:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,467
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4538391
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gothams_Only_Wolf/pseuds/Gothams_Only_Wolf
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Toxixpumpkin Tumblr Prompt: You always have at least 3 cats or more trailing behind you at all times and I’m sorry but I have to ask “Are you magical?” <strike>(Bonus points if they actually are)</strike></p>
            </blockquote>





	Moonlit Arcana

**Author's Note:**

> So I asked Toxixpumpkin what they thought would be a good use of this prompt. I got a reply and oh boy, this is gonna be... interesting. We'll see where the Muse takes me next. 
> 
> Enjoy?

* * *

**-Operation Slipper: Camp Rhino (Kandahar, Afghanistan) 2007-**

Stacker Pentecost was not someone that the rumors spared, as gossip came in many forms over the deployment of the SAS into Afghanistan. Magic's not something you can hide easily in places like this; ancient, well-organized and practically sentient when it came to mystical forces. 

So Stacker does what he's always done when they send him to countries rich in history, which is to touch the ground with his bare hands and _feel_ what's around him. A lot of it is wistfulness, shared pain but also lights that don't fade or flicker. Those are fellow hedge-folk (as Mum liked to call them) that he can contact for information. Tamsin just shook her head at his usual gesture. 

"Uh, sir?" The dark-haired supply Sargeant was confused. 

"Leave him be, kiddo. He'll be there until sundown at the very least. Hi." Tamsin stepped around him and flashed her trademark flirt smile. The woman flushed but Tamsin was quick to draw her away. Luna rolled her eyes at Stacker, her own magic gliding in the air in her wake. 

Magic... didn't always manifest the way most people thought it would. Stacker's was a mix of manipulating the elements and being able to touch other people's magic (last one hadn't earned him many friends in the magical community). Cats were fond of him though he hadn't found his Familiar yet. 

By dinner (and what happened when he was ordered somewhere new), Stacker had a small entourage of half-grown kittens and no way to explain them.

* * *

Stacker quickly scooped up the cats to check thier genders and then dropped the 'I'm just as confused as you are as to why these cats are following me' act after he entered the B-Hut assigned to them from Supply. 

"Trying me on for size, little ones?" He questioned as Tamsin rolled her eyes. She specialized in pyrokenetic magic but that didn't stop her from having a Phoenix Familiar. 

All three meow in protest. 

"No, not it. You're my Familiars." 

The cats look at one another and sub-vocalize. 

"You want to see the others like me." 

That earns him a lapful of three cats and a lot of purring. 

"Oh _**kitties**_!" Luna squealed, dropping her serious expression and making a 'gimme' motion. He handed her one with a smile. Luna didn't get to behave like the twenty-four year old she actually was most of the time. The kitten sniffed at her and started kneading her arm, drawing blood and licking at it. "A-A Familiar? Now? Are you sure you want to go flying, little one?" 

She meowed imperiously as she curled further into Luna's hold. _Mine_ , she seemed to say. 

"Oh Stacks, look at her." The feline was mostly the same save for a flicker of silver here and there among the dusky black coat with darker stripes. 

"She is quite the cat, Luna." Stacker hummed as the cat brushed against his hand when he petted her. "Do you have a name?" 

"Silver Lining." Luna cooed. "Or Astoria." 

"The star to your moon, hmm?" Tamsin chuckled dryly as she stroked her fingers down Incendia's chest feathers. 

The cat me-eewed loudly at the latter name. "Astoria it is."

* * *

Deployment wasn't a piece of cake by any means. Stacker narrowly avoided several explosions purely on the merit of his magic. Word started to spread that Stacker had a 'sixth' sense about what was happening around him and they tended to trust his judgement about certain roads. The simple truth was that he could feel the unnatural intent placed into the bombs. 

Luna teased him about being the 'hero' but Stacker just rolled his eyes at his sister. 

His subtle work has the places they need to clear more friendly and a little less hostile. The other Special Ops personnel left the SAS alone for the first few months but that was enough for them all to connect, ground and expand on an unspoken message of peace. Tamsin pushed peace into the fires of those willing to take in American, British or other national forces. 

Luna forged aerial runes with the local hedge-folk, spreading the whispers that soldiers were just here for Taliban and Al-Queda. Stacker... Stacker had to anchor the boots of the soldiers with good intentions, making them swift and silent; he carved runes into bullets distantly, making them avoid as many innocents as they could; coaxing the earth into growing green things even when all hope seemed lost. 

They worked carefully as they followed thier American and other counterparts deep into the mountains. The cats had discreetly followed them all, sometimes losing a cat to a fellow magic user or gaining one in a village that had no cats to speak of. 

"Coyote, why is it the locals seem to like your group better than the rest of us?" came the comment from one of the Americans (code-name Romeo). 

"We dress like them and speak thier language," He countered with a snort. "If you wore what we're wearing, you might also get shot, so there is that." 

"And that Tango's pretty hot." Tamsin rolled her eyes as she poked at the flames, her eyes flaring dangerously. Someone's tent would get set on _fire_ if Tamsin decided to do it. Stacker's about to keep the peace when someone else does it. 

"You can't see anything under those scarves she's got on." The rebuttal wasn't from Romeo but Brawler. "Don't you idiots have patrol?" 

"... Yeah." Romeo and Blue leave the fireside and Brawler relaxed. 

"Thank you." Tamsin murmured. "I was going to set thier supplies on fire but I actually don't think Blue's at fault for his brother." 

"Harsh but effective. So when were you three going to tell me you used magic?" Brawler casually commented and all three of them traded wary glances. "Most of us shield, y'know. Taliban and Al-Queda have users too." 

"How could you tell?" Stacker asked quietly, having hidden thier magic with thick shields the entire deployment. 

"The cats." the pointed yet amused remark has him sighing. 

"That I'm helpless to control. They know me." Stacker admitted as Astoria brushed against his legs. 

"Felines always have been magic-sensitive," Brawler hummed but produced no magic of his own. "In the know but not magical myself. My wife's the one with the sparks coming from her fingertips." He wiggled his gloved hand over Astoria and the cat pawed at his fingers. 

"Fire?" 

"Fire and earth." Brawler shrugged as he poked at the fire and pulled out what looked like a tiny bag of squashed mini-marshmallows. "She preserved them. Want some?" 

"Sure." Tamsin brightened at the sight of her favorite sweet thing.

* * *

Romeo eventually apologized when Tamsin tackled him away from gunfire and lit the enemy on fire (both literally _**and**_ figuratively) with her own bullets. Blue was a more reserved version of Romeo but just as vicious when it came to protecting them. Neither had a shred of magic (like a majority of the group) but they were excellent shots. 

Returning under the wire gave them a three week-long break. Stacker decompressed his tight magic and he felt Tamsin and Luna do the same. Brawler (now bearing a name tag of D'onofrio and a rank of Captain) tracked them down to visit after the first week. 

"I'm about to VTC my wife in Alaska. You guys wanna join?" D'onofrio asked as they lounged in thier B-Hut. 

"Sure." Luna and Tamsin answered as Stacker looked down at his lap, full of Astoria, Helios and an unnamed new cat with clipped whiskers. He'd rescued the last one from drunk soldiers and was particularly fond of her, multicolored and scruffy as she was. 

"I'll stay behind." He murmured with a gesture at the pile of mostly sleeping cats. 

"Party-pooper. She's got earth like you." Tamsin commented with a wheedling tone. 

Luna gently squeezed his shoulder and mimed writing notes for him. He flashed her a soft smile as he let Astoria climb up his shoulder to jump into Luna's arms.

* * *

Stacker managed to get Helios and the little female down off his lap after he promised to get them sausage from the Italian side of Camp Rhino. A third cat, aptly named Viper (because he was small, sand-colored and bit anyone who bothered him) joined Stacker's tiny band of cats as he strolled across the base. 

He snagged a decent dinner from the Italian Special Ops with sausages for the cats tucked into a plastic baggie. He was just putting it away when he heard a voice. 

"Mate, I've seen a lot of things but this tops my list." The Australian accent threw him for a loop but Stacker stopped, the cats milling about his feet before settling down to sit properly. "Ye always have at least 3 cats or more trailing behind ye at all times n' I’m sorry but I have to ask..." The ginger Aussie leaned forward and whispered, "Are you magical?" Stacker almost laughed but the man was serious. "My Mum always used t' say there were people out there that could manipulate things." 

He looked around cautiously and motioned that the man follow him to his B-Hut. 

"The answer's yes. But—" Here Stacker held up a finger as he sat down to feed the cats the promised sausage. "You can't tell anyone else." 

"Not a word." The man agreed solemnly. "Name's Herc Hansen." He held out a roughly wrapped hand with bruised knuckles and Stacker shook it firmly. 

"Stacker Pentecost. Why did you think magic?" Stacker is curious despite his reservations about Hansen. 

"... Some say ye've got a 'sixth' sense fer danger." Hansen muttered quietly as the little scruffy cat wobbled her way towards him. He gently picked her up and sat so that his legs would be a comfortable cat space. "Some say that yer eyes glow gold when there's a fire-fight 'r a dogfight. Others insist you're th' only reason they're still breathin' in desert air." 

"I see." Stacker hummed as Helios and Viper chirruped and brrped for thier sausage. He handed over a link for the little one. "And what did you intend with that remark?" 

"Nothin'." The smile is sweet and shy and if Stacker'd thought the man was interesting a moment ago, he was doubly so now. "Jus' wanted t' let you know you had more allies than ye thought." 

"Thank you." Stacker gave the man a soft smile. They sit in comfortable silence though Hansen is long gone before the others (Luna, Tamsin and D'onofrio) return.

* * *

They pass each other on base while sharing a glance from time to time. When they meet again, Hansen's on duty and about to go out again. 

"Don't suppose you could-" Here Hansen wiggled his fingers and Stacker frowned at him. 

"I may have magic at my fingertips but there's no need to treat me as a charm." Stacker huffed with a raised brow. "Besides, someone's already done that for you." 

"Huh?" The hazel eyes shadow in confusion. 

"Someone you know made you a cage protection and laced it into a tattoo you have." Stacker pointed out with a jab at the tightly woven protection, getting zapped for his troubles while making a piece of the cage visible. "It's very well done." 

"Oh. I... I don't know anyone with magic aside from you." Hansen frowned. "M' brother's deployed here n my fiancée's back in Oz." 

"You hid your attatchement." he remarked softly as the sun slowly set over the thick barbed wire. "And we're pretty good about keeping it safe. Most people never get to know the way you do." 

"Mm-hmm." Hansen nodded in agreement. "'S easier that way, right?" 

"But..." Stacker made it more a question than a statement. 

"Gets a bit lonely." came the quiet response. 

"I wouldn't know how that feels, not entirely, but you're welcome to our B-Hut and our table." He offered just before Hansen was called away by his commanding officer. 

"Thanks." Hansen gave a two-fingered salute out the Humvee turret.

* * *

Friendship isn't easy when Hansen goes missing for the rest of the team's time under the wire. 

"We need you to retrieve a unit that's gone missing. Last seen-" 

"Two weeks and four days ago. They're SASR." Stacker finished for the military doctor. 

"They were carrying medical supplies. Unit should've been back weeks ago. I have a bad feeling about them and the supplies." came the grave reply. 

"We'll bring them back. Same team as last time: in and out with no casualties." He asserted and the doctor gave him a look. 

"Three members?" The doctor scoffed. 

"Doctor... Let me put it this way. Coyote, Tango and myself have a decent standing with the locals. They tolerate Romeo, Blue and Brawler because they don't make stupid remarks in Pashtu or Dari." Luna spoke for the first time all meeting, her dark eyes pining the man in place. "We'll get back the unit and the supplies." 

"... Very well. Patrol takes off-" 

"We'll be leaving in ones and twos. No offense but we know what we're doing, sir." Tamsin countered with a dry tone.

* * *

Boots made no noise as they tread across the dry and cracked earth. Breath was rendered quiet and the bodies of exactly seven people pass unnoticed into a village. One of the figures removed gloves, setting bare hands against the dirt where thousands have walked. The fingers dig in deep and the arid land hears an unearthly howl of wind. In the midst of the brewing storm is a single silhouette crouched as the enemy moved for it. 

Earth rumbled and moved in ways it shouldn't as the figures took out others in the darkened night. 

Stacker shoved back his hood as the smallest cat from his entourage loped up to him with a dead mouse and... a gauze packet unopened. 

"What's that?" Stacker got the scruffy cat to release it into his hand. He offered the mouse back after checking it over for poison of any sort. "Eat. I know you've found your favorite." She mewed and the sound was fairly indignant. "Ah. You want to see him too." 

Large green eyes narrowed as a purr rumbled from the tiny feline to show her satisfaction. 

"Come along then." 

They swept through the village, freeing it's former residents and imprisoning the attackers. Exactly three cats tagged along behind one of them, sleek and silent shadows that darted in and out of buildings with an increasing number of supplies. 

When the final place is opened and the prisoners now the jailers, Stacker followed the small cat deep into the cave-like dwelling. 

"Here?" 

"Hello?" The raspy voice of someone Stacker had come to enjoy the company of made him crack a smile. 

"Hansen?" 

"Pentecost. Where's... Oh there you are." The tiny tortie curled up in Hansen's lap, leaning up to lick at the blood trickling from his cheek. "Lucky for me, huh?" Hansen's hazel eyes rolled back as he passed out. 

"I think he might have named you, little one." Stacker murmured as the cat continued to purr louder than he thought possible. "We'll get him on his feet again in no time."

* * *

Lucky Seven (Stacker's favorite cat) split her time between the infirmary in Camp Rhino and Stacker himself. She accompanied them on missions outside the wire. Stacker spent a great deal of his spare time in the infirmary, reading to a restless Hansen. 

"Fer cripes sake, will you quit usin' my last name? Pretty sure we c'n move on to first names. Say it with me, Herc." 

"Herc," Stacker's lips pulled up into an amused smile at that. "Stacker." 

"Stacks, c'n ye pass me my cup?" Herc gave him a wink. "Thanks." 

Stacker laughed when the cup spilled cold water all over Herc's chest, still snickering as he helped mop up. 

" **COLD!** Cold! Stacker, ye drongo, stop laughin' n _help_ me!" 

The nurse may or may not have snuck a picture that she later gave to Stacker as a gift before he left the infirmary.

* * *

Herc recovered quickly enough to see action again. He fought with more caution, strategy taking place of action. The nights he returned from patrol were the nights that Stacker didn't sleep because his friend wanted to discuss how to maneuver the Afghani streets. 

They grew closer and closer, though Stacker never intervened when Herc went for a VTC with his fiancée. 

Luna pulled him aside after Herc had left thier B-Hut for lunch with his SASR team. 

"Stacks... Be careful, okay? You give your heart away and that's it, kiddo." Luna stroked along his scruffy cheek and cupped his face to press a soft kiss on his forehead. 

"I _**know**_ , Moony." He huffed out her old nickname and she gave him a soft look. 

"I'm looking out for _you_ , Padfoot." Luna replied with a pat to his shoulder. "All I have is you, Red and Astoria." 

"Best sister anyone could ask for, Moony." Stacker rolled over on his cot to wave her out of the B-Hut. 

Tamsin and Luna had to be careful that no-one saw them kissing. It wasn't taboo by any means but the Americans wouldn't tolerate it if they knew. They worked around it with talent and sometimes by magic but Stacker was happy that Luna had found love.

* * *

Herc's time with the Taliban had fractured the cage protection but hadn't disabled it entirely by the time the SASR convoy drove over planted mines (the other Hansen, Scott, never listened to Stacker's advice). Stacker knew the instant it went off, his magic swinging to the fore as he lashed out at the attacking enemy. 

He was in the SAS-designated portion of the gym and he was infinitely thankful for it as he punched the bag while his magic landed heavy blows against the group attacking Herc's team. They fled after the fifth wave of magic that created an illusion of a monster coming after them. He slumped against the bag as Luna caught him. 

"Attack... Herc's convoy." He panted out after a moment of reprieve. 

"Stacks, he's kilometers from—Oh _Stacker_." Luna's voice cracked as she realized what had happened. "You have to tell him at some point." 

"Has a fiancée." He muttered before passing out in his sister's arms.

* * *

**-Ramstein Air Force Base: Base Hospital, Room 207, 2008-**

Stacker felt uncomfortable in civilian clothes after wearing the uniform for so long. He pulled at his sweater and scuffed his boot on the tile before Hansen's door. Lucky's perched on his shoulder under a magical shield that no one can see through unless he lets them. Tamsin and Luna are off enjoying a wonderful vacation in San Francisco as he gathered the courage to talk to Herc. 

"Hello. Are you here visiting Herc?" A dark-haired woman has the most beautiful smile and a pair of dark eyes that crinkled at the corners. "I'm Angela Moss. You c'n call me Angie though." 

"Stacker Pentecost." Stacker shook her hand as he replied. "You're the one that built the cage protection, if I'm not mistaken." 

Her eyes widened before she smiled again, even brighter this time. "I did; you are a perceptive one. Come in, come in. Herc's been telling me all about you." 

"Stacks!" Herc grinned as he saw Stacker. "Ang, see, I told ye he'd show up." 

"It's his birthday today. What's on your shoulder?" She peered at Lucky Seven's shield before he unveiled the cat. "Oh. Herc, isn't that the cat you kept telling me about?" 

"She's gotten big. What have you been feeding her, Stacks?" Herc asked as Lucky jumped onto the bed and curled up on Herc's lap with a purr that would put a motorcycle to shame. 

"Meat. I don't really go out all that often anyway," Stacker relaxed as he sat on the edge of Herc's bed. 

"Heh. Same ol' Stacker." Herc's bandaged fingers gripped the loose sleeve of his sweater. "He used to stay in his B-Hut n talk strategy with me when he was dead tired, y'know." 

"You're a good friend. I know a lot of people can't stand his tactics monologues." Angie handed him a warm coffee as she took the other side of the bed. "He's only lucid because he wanted to wait for you to get in." 

"Aww, Ang, quit dobbin' on me." Herc complained as he cuddled Lucky close. "'Snot easy when yer chick is trying t' shove sleep tonics onya." 

"You should sleep." Stacker agreed which pulled a laugh from Angie. 

"Fine, fine." Herc closed his eyes and was breathing deeply in a matter of seconds. 

"Thank you." She squeezed his hand over Herc's sleeping form. "He's been up for hours waiting for you. He needs rest to heal." 

"Not a problem," he assured as he made to get up. Angie's grip tightened and he looked at her seriously. "Let go." 

"I will after you talk about what happened between you and Herc." She fired back. 

"Absolutely nothing." His tone turned frigid. "We're _**friends**_ and nothing more." 

"... Your magic is all over him. I don't understand." She deflated quickly, pushing her unruly curls away from her face. 

"My family has a curse. Some call it a blessing." He murmured as he returned her squeeze faintly. 

"Go on." she sat back down, attentive as Stacker continued. 

"Bast, when magic was Magic with a capital, gave magic to my ancestor. Problem was... She loved Bast." He paused a moment, nibbled his lip before he continued. "Bast couldn't return it, not as she was. So Bast shifted forms and well, gave my ancestor something to remember her by." 

"O-oh. Oh my."

"Ancestor has the kid a year later. He's a gifted one, this kid, but love eludes him until he's twenty seven. Loses his heart to a priestess _and_ a priest. Neither of them return his love... Kid dies the next week. Happens three times before the ancestor tells her fifth and final child that giving away his heart is dangerous, that he should be careful. Last child is careful, cautious and marries a former priestess that he adores but..." 

"Doesn't love. I see. I still—You fell in love with Herc." Angie finished softly. 

"He has no clue and I don't need to know. I know... I die."

* * *

Stacker continued to visit Herc and Angie in the hospital, bringing preserved flowers and jars of Vegemite that he gets twice a month from Australia. 

"Stacks," Herc stretched slowly as to not tear the stitches but he continues after a short yawn. "'M gettin' out soon. Gonna hit rehab n then back t' Oz for me and Angie." 

"I know. We talk while you're passed out, Herc. She's definitely a keeper." He teased his best friend. "Oh, speaking of Oz... Here. Thought you might be running out because you eat it by the spoonful." Stacker handed over the new jar and Herc lit up. 

"Ye always know when I'm runnin' out. I finished your last jar yesterday." The bright smile flashed in his direction made his chest burn a little. "D'you n Ang talk shop a lot?" 

"Traded a few tips. She strengthened that cage you have to the point where it won't allow anything within a five meter radius if it's projected with hostile intentions. Of course..." 

"Lemme guess, Scott's a sorry-looking cunt 'cause he can't see me." Herc commented wryly as he cracked open the seal on the Vegemite and dug his spoon in. "'M brother's not th' worst thing that could happen t' me." 

"Nevertheless, he's stuck unless you invite him in." Stacker murmured as Herc stuck the spoon into his mouth and leaned over the side of the bed. "Herc, you shouldn't move like that. You're going to tear something." 

Herc held up a scarred finger as a universal 'wait' gesture while he dug around in the nightstand. He made a noise of satisfaction around the mouthful of Vegemite as he wrote on the decent-sized white board. 

**_Angie told me about it._ **

There was no mistaking what it was. Herc knew and now Stacker was headed for a certain death at some point. But... Herc kept writing. 

_**She said if I didn't say it out loud, we could talk about it? Was she right?** _

"Yes." 

_**When?** _

"Some time before Lucky found you in that cave." 

_**Why?**_ Herc looked confused that more than one person could love him. 

"... You listened. When I thought all I had was Luna and Tamsin and our Familiars, you showed up. You brought me lunch without asking. You patrolled after you got caught by the enemy. You were sweet and thoughtful and you didn't think that anyone should return what you freely gave them. Honest, loyal to the point of stupidity; no wonder Angie fell for you." Stacker admitted with a small, self-depreciating snort. 

"I knew that you had someone like me, someone with magic that protected you in battle. I went and fell for you anyway. Stupid, yes, but Luna has Tamsin and Mum... Well, it's not the first time the family's lost a man. They'll carry on." he finished with a heavy sigh. 

_**And if I said something else, something to the effect of yeah, you're smoking hot and Ang admitted last night that she wouldn't mind sharing?** _

"I don't think that's a good idea." Stacker shook his head no, even if he wanted to say yes. "I can't do that to you. To Angela." 

_**Says who?** _

"Says my family's history, Herc." He pointed out sharply, his heart wanting what was offered with his mind telling him it was a bad idea from the start and yet...

 _ **So you don't even want to try? There isn't some part of you that's thinking this through with a hundred contingency plans?**_ Herc crossed his arms as he stared Stacker down. _**C'mon Stacks. We can beat this thing together.**_ The hazel eyes soften as they stay locked in a silent and fierce argument. _**Please?**_

Stacker took a deep breath, the words flowing from him like water. "I'll try. I have no idea what I'm doing or if this idea of yours is even going to work. But I know one thing; I love you, Herc Hansen and I think I'm halfway there already with Angie. So yes, you incorrigible Aussie of mine, I'll try my hardest." 

"Stacks, I accept that you'll try for me n Ang. I think I fell in love with you th' same way I fell in love with Ang... Through sheer dumb luck. But yeah, we'll give it a go." 

Herc shoved the white board to the side, cupping Stacker's face to give him a thorough kiss that left them both with idiotic smiles on thier faces. 

Stacker supposed that not all rumors and legends were bad... He was just going to make sure they were at least **_true_**. 

**Author's Note:**

>  _On second thought_ , maybe I shouldn't follow the Muse; I honestly don't know what happened here. I gave Stacker an inch and he ran with it so fast that I could barely keep up. I don't even know how to feel about the whole thing. 
> 
> Comment, complain, ect.


End file.
